“Watchdog” – Out of The Box #23 D&D Encounters
Out of the Box Encounters Using Daern’s Instant Fortress Introduction:
Another popular cliche or trope that seems to endlessly occur in every D&D game is this: Defeat monster, check it’s pockets, take it’s stuff. Here’s a way to rethink that. What if the magic item is part of the encounter. What if that magic item defined the encounter such that it makes it very difficult to acquire without damaging it. What if that self-same magic item was also highly desirable?
Now, let’s add something to that concept. Let’s apply a template to that encounter that takes a common everyday monster (zombie) and applies it to a monster less common…say, one that makes it harder to just take the magic item?
So…here’s my interpretation of that concept – take Daern’s Instant Fortress, but place it on your selected terrain already deployed, and put a zombified Tyrannosaurus Rex inside it on the ground floor. How? Why? That’s not important. “A wizard did it.” Add locks and traps.
Then ask yourself – is the fortress worth the problem of dealing with the “watchdog” trapped inside?
Even better, if they deal with the “watchdog” and get greedy, there could be even more issues…
Environment: Anywhere you would like to place the fortress
Suggested level: 7-8
Imagine a journey that leads the players to a lonely hilltop, upon which stands a 30’ tall tower. It’s walls shine of a burnished metal in the daylight. Each wall appears to be 20’ on a side, and each 30’ tall wall has two arrow slots stacked vertically…watching out over the waving yellow grass upon the hillock. The structure stands as a quiet sentinel over the landscape. No sounds issue from within, and no torchlight appears from behind the darkened arrow slots.
A single metal door greets you, closed and silent. No guards appear to be posted.
“Watchdog” – Out of The Box #23 D&D Encounters
This structure is a fully deployed Daern’s Instant Fortress. (Dungeon Master’s Guide, p. 160) It has been abandoned (or perhaps not…) by a powerful Wizard, who has deployed some safeguards to protect his property.
The Fortress, as stated, is 30’ tall, has four walls each 20’ wide, and two stories each 15’ tall. Each outer wall of each story has an arrow slot in the middle of it, looking out over the terrain outside. The tower is constructed of adamantine, so it’s metal surfaces are tough. Each wall has 100 hit points, is immune to non-magical weapon damage, excluding siege weapons, and is resistant to all other damage.
The front door is locked by an Arcane Lock (DC: 16 to dispel by Dispel Magic or Knock. Knock only unlocks for 10 minutes). Even if they circumvent this issue, the lower level is guarded by a Zombie Tyrannosaurus Rex. It is so large as to not to be able to leave through the small door, but it can certainly fill the door with a large biting mouth. The second the door is opened by anyone but the wizard who animated it, it will attack. Since it makes no noise until it attacks, it will gain surprise on the first round unless some method of scrying is used to detect it ahead of time.
The Zombie T-Rex cannot leave, as stated and anyone who enters the lower level to fight it will also open themselves up to the possible Tail Attack.
Inside the tower, the interior is divide into two floors, both with a 15’ tall ceiling. A single metal ladder connects the ground floor to the roof, with trap doors in the floor of the second story and the roof.
The second floor trap door has a further Arcane Lock (DC: 16, as above), with a Programmed Illusion ready to go if it’s opened without a command word. The illusion will be off a small glowing ball of fire hovering in the very center of the room, the size of an egg. A quick Arcana check (DC: 13) will determine that it looks similar to an un-triggered Delayed Blast Fireball.
If a player takes their action to examine it with a successful Investigation (DC: 16) will determine it’s an illusion. The tiny ball will last for five minutes then fade. Once the illusion plays for five minutes, it will fade for ten minutes, then restart. The “ball” will sputter and threaten to detonate, but never will.
“Watchdog” – Out of The Box #23 D&D Encounters with Daern’s instant fortress
The second level has one odd piece of furnishing. There is a male human corpse laying on the floor. It is not undead, nor is it trapped. It is, however, the remains of a captive that the wizard had, who was left to starve to death when he left. His hands and feet are shackled. He has rags for clothes and has no obvious treasure.
Should the players think to cast Speak With Dead, they can find out all of the command words used in the Tower, including the word used to shrink or deploy the tower. The captive was clever enough to remember the words, but could not free himself to take advantage of them. The captive’s name will be up to the DM, and could also be a source of plot hooks should the DM decide.
The roof also has a trap door. It, too, is protected by an Arcane Lock (DC: 16, as above). It is further trapped by a Glyph of Warding if opened. The Glyph is inscribed on the bottom of the door, and has Explosive Runes (5d8 Fire. Dexterity saving throw DC:16). The runes activate if the door is opened without the command word being spoken.
Monsters: “Fido” – Zombie Tyrannosaurus Rex. – Use the T-Rex description ( p. 80 of the Monster Manual), but add Damage Immunity: Poison, Condition Immunity: Poisoned, and Undead Fortitude from the Zombie (p. 316 of the Monster Manual).
Treasure: Daern’s Instant Fortress…if they can resolve all the spell traps and the Zombie Dinosaur.
Complications: Well, I guess that depends. There’s a few traps, one monster, and a lot of spells to overcome. The biggest risk is depleting spells or healing, only to run into something else. For DM’s who want to ramp up the risk, feel free to add extra Glyphs of Warding to other doors, or convert the captive to Undead of some kind.
The point of the encounter is not to kill the party. It’s to test their resolve and see how many resources they are willing to throw at a desirable item…that is..if they know the tower is Daern’s Instant Fortress. This d&d instant Fortress isn’t a gimme. Even if they overcome it.
The Wizard who owns this fortress may well be dead or on another plane of existence. Or…he may come looking for his fortress. How many adamantine fortresses are there anyway?
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